Hit Show was not at his best in his last race. Allowed to settle in last Saturday, Hit Show got back to his best, rallying wide under Florent Geroux to capture the Grade 3, $175,000 Louisiana Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Komorobino Omoide. Hit Show hardly has gone about his business as a pacesetter, but he tends to take up a stalking position and grind his way forward through the second part of a race. That’s what he attempted to do in his most recent start, the Grade 2 Clark Stakes on Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs, but Hit Show went flat in the homestretch, finishing a well-beaten third, his Beyer Speed Figure dipping to an 89 off a peak of 100. Brad Cox, who trains Hit Show for Wathnan Racing, sent the horse to his string at Payson Park, circling the Louisiana while giving Hit Show a spell at the relatively bucolic Florida training center. “That was the plan, to zero in on this race. We shipped into Florida. He responded well,” Cox said. Hit Show, breaking from the rail, stumbled slightly at the start, but Geroux made no effort to take a position, letting his mount drop back to last as Track Phantom outran the other pace players and went an opening half in a moderate 48.66 seconds. Hit Show got out of last at the 7/16 pole, then began a steady march around the far turn, following the move of second-choice Skinner into the homestretch. Komorobino Omoide, pressing the pace, put away Track Phantom in upper stretch, Maycocks Bay boxing on outside those two, Skinner nearly getting on even terms with the leader at the furlong grounds. But when Geroux pulled Hit Show outside Skinner, racing far, far from the inside rail, Hit Show mowed them down. “He’s always honest in his races. Any track, any kind of condition, he doesn’t care,” Geroux said. Hit Show paid $4.60 as the favorite and was timed in 1:44.91 for 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy, sealed track, a solid enough time on a tiring surface. Komorobino Omoide gamely turned away Skinner, earning the place by a head. Five-year-old Hit Show now has won half his 16 starts. By Candy Ride out of Actress, by Tapit, Hit Show was bred by Gary and Mary West and raced for the Wests before Wathnan purchased the horse last year. The aim, Cox said, is to pick off a Grade 1 sometime during 2025. Hit Show hasn’t come especially close to that yet. But, last to first, he was decidedly better Saturday than in his last race. Gigante cruises to Bradley win The 5-year-old horse Gigante looked good when Saturday’s $97,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes was scheduled to be run over the Fair Grounds turf course. He still looked good when rain forced the race onto a sloppy, sealed main track. And he looked even better crossing the finish a 1 3/4-length winner over Idratherbeblessed, a tribute to Gigante’s versatility. Gigante, by Not This Time out of Summertime Green, by Empire Maker, has won turf stakes at Colonial Downs, Horseshoe Indianapolis, and Fair Grounds. He won an off-turf stakes over a fast track at Churchill Downs, and Saturday showed that wet going will not stop him, either. “He’s just got such a great personality,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Gigante for Diamont T Racing and Iapetus Racing. “He’s a racehorse. He’s proud. He knows what he’s doing. He’s as good right now as he’s ever been.” Money Supply finished a well-beaten third in a race that scratched down to six runners. Gigante, off Idratherbeblessed’s slow half mile in 50.10, was timed in 1:45.66 for 1 1/16 miles and paid $3.80 as the heavy favorite over Money Supply. The outcome seemed inevitable long before the race ended, Jose Ortiz sitting on a loaded cannon going around the far turn. “When we passed the three-eighths pole I was full of horse, just waiting for the right moment, the right time,” Ortiz said. Ortiz chose an inside route, squeezing between Idratherbeblessed and the fence. Gigante took care of the rest. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.